1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing method and apparatus regarding an information processing section of a computer or the like or, further, an information processing section having a printing function.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional computer only has printed only characters of fixed sizes of a few levels.
Therefore, a character code is sent from the computer to a printer and the character code is converted into a bit image of the character by using font data included in the printer and the bit image is generated.
However, in association with the improvement of a processing ability of the recent computer, vector graphics, a bit image, and an outline font are combined and displayed on the computer and an image is displayed or output more graphically and beautifully.
To print such a document, a printer which can develop the vector graphics or outline font must be used, so that the printer becomes complicated and the costs rise.
This is because there is a drawback such that since complicated calculations such as a Bezier curve or the like needed to develop the outline font, a practical printing speed cannot be obtained unless an information processing ability of the printer is high. On the other hand, although the printer ordinarily has fonts of characters to be printed, in case of the outline font, an amount of data which is necessary for one character is larger than that of a bit map font. Moreover, since the printer generally has a plurality of kinds of fonts (Gothic style, Ming style, Textbook style, and the like), a capacity of a font memory that is necessary is large. A hard disc, a special ROM, or the like must be prepared.
Further, when vector graphics are drawn, if special hardware is not used, the printing speed decreases. When there is not a page memory of a capacity corresponding to one page, the printing speed also decreases.
On the other hand, there is also a method whereby a print image is formed in a computer and only a final bit image is sent to a printer and is printed. However, to form an image, complicated processings are also similarly necessary. Consequently, there is a drawback such that when the operator tries to use the computer for another processing during the formation of the print image, a response speed remarkably becomes slow.
When considering a future technical trend, it is presumed that a printing resolution becomes high and a print color changes from the monochromatic color to the color and that an amount of information to be processed extremely increases.
When the processing ability for developing drawing commands such as character train of an outline font or the like, a vector graphics command, a bit image, or the like into a print image is insufficient for a computer sole body or a printer sole body, in place of enhancing the processing ability of the sole body of each of the computer and printer, the drawing commands are developed in parallel by a plurality of computers or the printer. Due to this, the shortage of the processing ability is eliminated.
That is, it is sufficient that the drawing commands are simultaneously developed into print images by a plurality of print image processors and are again returned to the original print images by the printer.
However, since a drawing command train has information as a casual relation due to the commands such as vector graphics, outline font, and the like, even when the drawing command train is merely simply separated, a correct image cannot be always formed because of the vertical relation or the like of a figure.
Even when the vertical relation is decided to a certain degree and the drawing commands are divided, there is also a drawing command such as a "painting command" such that it is difficult to decide on which region an influence is exerted by only the coordinates included in the command.
In the development of the bit image in each of the divided regions, it is difficult to presume which computer will finish the development at first because it varies depending on a load state of each computer and complication of the drawing command train.
That is, since the print images after they were developed into the bit images reach the printer at random, the order to print a group of packets causes a problem.
Further, even in the case where the print image processings are executed at a plurality of locations, it is inconvenient unless an error processing (paper jam, lack of papers, shortage of print ink, or the like) is executed or the operation (interruption of the printing or the like) from the user for the printer is executed in a manner similar to the case where the ordinary printer is used.